Windows Phone 8S by HTC: Three step up as its first carrier

On Friday, Three announced that after an initial hiccup, the Windows Phone 8S by HTC is now available online and in stores across the UK on PAYG and on contract.

Along with HTC’s new Windows Phone 8 flagship the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, its smaller sibling, the Windows Phone 8S (or HTC 8S for convenience) is the only other new Windows Phone 8 device landing on all the major UK carriers alongside the likes of Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse.

The HTC 8S plays second fiddle to the 8X with a smaller display, smaller internal memory and a lower resolution camera, however the 8S still offers up Beats Audio, a proud USP of HTC’s most recent handsets in both the Android and Windows Phone camps as well as the option of removable memory (a feature not available on the larger HTC 8X) and a lower price point.

Three

Being one of the first to the party, Three are offering up the HTC 8S on a range of eight plans with contract pricing starting from £17 a month, up to £28 a month, with PAYG pricing for the handset ringing in at a very reasonable £179.99.

EE

Neither the HTC 8S or 8X will feature an LTE radio, meaning that they won’t be available on the network’s new 4G LTE network. The HTC 8S will instead be available through EE on Orange or T-Mobile contracts with availability kicking off the 9th November. The handset is expected to be free on a £20.50 a month two-year plan. There’s no breakdown on what other tariffs will be available.

O2

For now the HTC 8S is still unavailable on O2, but prospective customers can register to receive availability notifications (link below). When it does hit, a free handset can be had for £21.50 a month on a two-year plan making it the most affordable Windows Phone 8 handset on the scene.

Vodafone

The HTC 8S is anticipated to arrive at Vodafone soon, although the launch windows isn’t locked down to November like some of the network’s rivals. As with other instances here it’s a case of registering your interest and waiting to see what they turn out. Based on the competition we suspect the 8S will make it to Vodafone this month, but as we already said, no date yet.

Carphone Warehouse

The mobile retailer has gone as far as as to make a dedicated page for the HTC 8S, where prospective customers can register their interest prior to availability. The handset is listed to arrive in November, but there’s no release date just yet.

Phones4U

Head to Phones4U’s coming soon page to see a wealth of phones, dominated by the new wave of Windows Phone 8 handsets including the HTC 8S. The handset’s arrival is slated for sometime this month with a free handset available on a £20.50 a month two-year contract.